Were slacking around here, I think we had the 2010 thread up in May after the 09 draft, or maybe it was just due to depression in the draft lol.

I was pushing the Earl Thomas bandwagon last year and while he would of been perfect for us he was out of our range. This year is really looking like a strong Safety class and it would be hard to pass up some of these guys but AOA cannot be forgotten either.

Does anyone have any favorites as of now for players, or to make it easier, just a position were gonna target in the 1st round? I wouldn't mind an impact 3-4 DE like Canty that can get after the QB but Safety looks pretty good.

Everything I've learned about Rahim Moore I love, ballhawking FS that can capitalize on mistakes by the QB from the pressure we provide. That's easily our biggest need on DE, especially since creating turnovers has been lacking. Run support isn't there yet, but if he can react to the ball in the air like he's shown I could care less.

Deunta Williams may be a better prospect, more complete and better tackler, not sure he's the best fit for us though. I do like him and he's always stood out to me.

There are alot more safeties I'll probably look at later, these 2 are the most intriguing for now.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Wright

I guarantee that if someone picks Cam Newton in the Top 5 they will regret it.

I bring this up because not only was this offseason one to cut bad salaries...owners will also have a chance to do it this offseason since the new CBA doesn't look like it'll get done during the season.

This offseason we saved over $12 million by cutting Flo and Hamlin. Free and Ball are set to make just over $1 million between the two of them.

So to break it down...we have

FA
FB
FS/CB
LG
DE

Cuts?
C
RB
RG
CB
WR

Those are 9 starters who could be gone next year. However unlikely I think it is that we'd see all 5 of our bad structured contracts go...I wouldn't be surprised to see 2 or 3 of those guys gone or restructure a deal.

Wanna predict the draft...follow the money.

We know interior OL will be a huge look.
CB will definitely be an early need.
WR has been addressed a year early I wouldnt worry about it being a early selection.
DE/FS we have some decent cheap talent to prove themselves this year. We won't know till after the year.

This doesn't bother me one bit. interior OL/CB talent both prove to be great positions to select in the first round...they have very high success rates. The rest is just fill in imo. Our draft should be fairly easy to predict this year.

Deunta Williams may be a better prospect, more complete and better tackler, not sure he's the best fit for us though. I do like him and he's always stood out to me.

Williams is a tackling machine -- 65 last yr with 55 solo stops, 6 INTs (12 career), 1st team all-ACC. He's been climbing 2011 draft boards ever since he declared he was staying for the sr. yr, unless they're drafting in the top 10 & I don't think they will, Dallas will need trade up ammunition to take him. Now he's listed in the top 2-3 safety prospects.

Yea, I don't see him making it out of the top 20 at all, but with that said:

Chykie Brown may be a much better choice for us.

I'm on record as saying I like him more then Aaron Williams personally, but I usually hype up 1 Longhorn per year, Orakpo, Earl Thomas, and he's my guy this year. I think we can get him in the 2nd-3rd rd depending on the type of year he has, but he has tools to end up much better then Williams. Physically and athletically he's the better DB, he just makes some mental lapses in games, going for big plays etc, but he could very easily sneak into the late 1st round with a solid year.

But I think he's someone we could target in round 2 and develop into a very fine starter opposite Jenkins. I still have hope for AOA as a future at FS to be honest, so right now I like the idea of Mike Pouncey in rd 1, and Chykie Brown in rd 2, at least before CFB season starts.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Wright

I guarantee that if someone picks Cam Newton in the Top 5 they will regret it.

I do. With Igor there was literally no drop off in play at all from Canty, our defensive was arguably at the highest level in the league in spurts as long as our CB play holds up. Bowen is my guy as well, and he's really got some upside to him, alot more then Spears and can end up a very solid starter as a DE in this scheme. We also tendered him higher then Spears if that means anything, but he's shown me more and more each year and he's steadily improving.

I wouldn't mind adding to the crop next year, but the DE's usually aren't the premiere position in this scheme, our D as a whole was better last year then the year before, and the year before we had Canty and a motivated Hamlin in the secondary.

With Spencer playing how he has, Jenkins, Ratliff, Ware, I think we just need to be able to still be aggressive and man cover guys on the edges and our DE's don't really concern me.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Wright

I guarantee that if someone picks Cam Newton in the Top 5 they will regret it.

I do. With Igor there was literally no drop off in play at all from Canty, our defensive was arguably at the highest level in the league in spurts as long as our CB play holds up. Bowen is my guy as well, and he's really got some upside to him, alot more then Spears and can end up a very solid starter as a DE in this scheme. We also tendered him higher then Spears if that means anything, but he's shown me more and more each year and he's steadily improving.

I wouldn't mind adding to the crop next year, but the DE's usually aren't the premiere position in this scheme, our D as a whole was better last year then the year before, and the year before we had Canty and a motivated Hamlin in the secondary.

With Spencer playing how he has, Jenkins, Ratliff, Ware, I think we just need to be able to still be aggressive and man cover guys on the edges and our DE's don't really concern me.

Cool beans. We'll agree to disagree for now. They could surprise me this year. I would say that we did see a drop off from Canty to Igor. I think we saw it not in their individual stats, but I think we saw it in the drop off of Ware's sacks. Igor did pretty good in run support but he did nothing to help Ware.

...and in this scheme, I agree that our DEs aren't the premier playmakers, but that shouldn't give them the excuse that they shouldn't make plays. They should be better playmakers than they were in Parcells' scheme for sure and we have yet to see that.

Off topic, but D, your sig makes me happy. I used to watch Chris play at West Forsyth when he was in high school, and then when he played at Wake. He's just a solid guy, and his family is great. I would be elated if he, Redick, and D12 did it big down in Orlando.

For high round needs, I say the list is: C/OG, DE, S, CB. In that order, although safety depends on play.

C/OG: Kind of self explanatory. This preseason shows we need to invest a high pick or two on o-lineman. They can't play forever, better to be safe than sorry. I don't want this to be a repeat of not drafting a QB until Troy Aikman was in the hospital with his 325128th concussion, but the o-line version. And i don't want to be a team with every piece but we can't make a hole for a midget to get through or keep Romo upright. It's time to make the unsexy pick for the better of the football team.

DE: While the position is solid, players contracts are expiring, and we don't have a true playmaker. If someone falls, is with in reach of a trade up, etc, and is the best player on the board, then i'm all for it. To have another pass rushing threat on first and second down to go with our big 3, would be HUGE.

S: This is an enigma. It all depends on the play of ball, and the development/coaches faith in AOA. If they both pan out, this position could be set for a decade. If they don't, im ready to finally spend that first rounder on a safety. If Ball performs, I don't think this is a priority before round 4, if he doesn't, you have to think. Sensabagh is a JAG.

CB: This is all about getting Newman's future replacement. Sure, "he's had the best camp since he's been here" but he is turns 32 today actually. (saw an article on it) Also, I'm not a cletis gordon as our 4th corner fan. Sure your 4th corner can't be great, but he can be better than cletis gordon. I'm not for picking some tye hill, ahmad carroll, kelly jennings, fringe 1st/2nd prospect etc, but if a legit value is there, sure.

Those are my thoughts for now.

EDIT: Also, I know jason williams and sean lee blah blah blah, but if an ILB falls, i'd grab him in a heart beat. Let the best young player win the job.

Moffitt - G Wisc big and strong
Marcus Cannon - T/G TCU big and strong; playing LT this year and could provide immediate help in the interior OL. could move to RT once Columbo is gone.
Wisnewski - C Penn St. - I think it's time we bring in a pure center. He's really smart which would be a big change for us. :)

Jimmy Smith CB/S Colorado - I think this kid is a safety at the next level.

Ballard - DT Iowa - I think he would be great as a 3-4 DE. Very quick.

__________________
In war, you win or lose, live or die - and the difference is just an eyelash.

I know this is "your" top draft needs. But for purpose of discussion I'm going to reason on them.

ILB - won't be touched we are 5 deep with youth behind the experience. Brooking is on his last year I believe we'd be stupid to pick him up again imo...have to give Lee/Williams a shot. Leon Williams is decent enough to carry behind James at SILB.

NT no thanks...at this point in his career Ratliff moving seems like more work than it's worth. We have a good talent behind him now finally lets see him develop before we bring on any more talent. The guy behind ratliff won't see more than 10 snaps a game anyways on defense. 5-tech is a need tho with 3 out of the 3 DE's on the last year of their deal.

CB makes a ton of sense...this could be Newmans last year as a cowboy...but I have a feeling the team might want to keep him around for a veteran presence...it'll all come down to how much they think he has left in the tank and if his cap number reflects that. If i'm not mistaken next year he'll have top 5 money on the team...he'll be a tricky guy to peg.

S has been long overdue since Woody left...time to invest a high pick on one. My favorite is DeAndre McDaniel from Clemson...dude has NFL build and is a ball hawk. I'm not up as I should be on everything right now so it's subject to change but when I see him on the field he is a difference maker and that is what we need. I'm not looking for a Nate Allen type prospect we need an elite safety. We missed the "ball" on Atogwe. Get it? haha. This looks to be like a good safety class so we have no excuses not to come away with one. Be interesting to see if Sensabaugh is reupped I'm pretty sure he is on the last year of his deal...he is going to have to make more plays on the ball if he wants to stay on the team. That said we have good young depth at the position just need an elite guy to round out the corps.

OL is so hard to peg for me. RT would make a ton of sense to me. But yet our team feels the need to keep Brewster at OT...that is the huge question mark for me....maybe the injury to Barron caused them to keep him out there...I'm not sure but seems like he was forced to play LT in training camp and exceeded the minimal expectations they had for him...and thus he stayed there the rest of camp. Any scout that has ever seen the dude play says he needs to move inside because he looks more natural when not in space. Bryan Broddus was the latest and said it repeatively in TC.

Then you hear reports of Sam Young looking better than expected...up and downs sure..but for a 6th round pick it's encouraging. Plus we are talking about a guy who has the physical makeup...he just hasn't put it together yet...with some NFL coaching and a guy like Houck helping with some of the technical aspects maybe we can find ourselves another Doug Free. He has the pedigree and some good reports for TC...maybe that's enough to put it off for another year...which is when the big decision will come whether to draft a RT or start Young as Columbo is set to be a FA I believe.

Lastly you have the interior OL. Koiser is a nice piece...no matter what anyone says he makes the line calls and works great in space. He still can't handle the bull rush very effective but when he is out our OL goes from average to terrible so he does make us better. However that said he's going to be a FA after this year which begs the question do we draft a guy here. The simple answer is yes because it makes the most sense...but for whatever reason the team seems to like what Holland has to offer and maybe they try to ignore the problem for another year. I think this is a no brainer get a top tier guy and don't worry about it for the next 10 years...but for whatever reason we just don't seem to draft interior guys worth a ****. Backup C would be nice..someone who can play any spot on the interior sure would have a lot of value seems like every year there is a couple of guys we should target but don't. If we do we miss out on them. Something to think about...I still think the best play is to draft a top tier interior OL...give Brewster some work inside and at tackle and wait to see what we have in Sam Young. However I could easily see us not addressing the position in the top of the draft and just going with Holland. Brewster really ***** this whole situation up...noone knows what he is or where is best to play him. At this point I hate to write him off because he's only truly had one training camp...but it's as if he's being groomed as a future swing tackle...that means we either don't have the RT or we are waiting to see who is going to win it when the position becomes available...needless to say I don't like that strategy but I don't see practice everyday either.

i was watching SF last night and wishing we had some guys like Iupati. We need an MFer at G. That's why I would like Cannon from TCU. The dude is 6-6 352 and was recognized by espn.com as a top 10 'workout warrior'.

Yea, I don't see him making it out of the top 20 at all, but with that said:

Chykie Brown may be a much better choice for us.

I'm on record as saying I like him more then Aaron Williams personally, but I usually hype up 1 Longhorn per year, Orakpo, Earl Thomas, and he's my guy this year. I think we can get him in the 2nd-3rd rd depending on the type of year he has, but he has tools to end up much better then Williams. Physically and athletically he's the better DB, he just makes some mental lapses in games, going for big plays etc, but he could very easily sneak into the late 1st round with a solid year.

But I think he's someone we could target in round 2 and develop into a very fine starter opposite Jenkins. I still have hope for AOA as a future at FS to be honest, so right now I like the idea of Mike Pouncey in rd 1, and Chykie Brown in rd 2, at least before CFB season starts.

Holy **** LL you couldn't be any more wrong here. Chykie Brown is absolute trash, he was average last season and this year he's getting beat like a dirty rug game in and game out. He has terrible man to man coverage skills, and can't play a ball in the air if his life depended on it. He's physically talented, but he is not skilled at all. There is absolutely no way he will be better than Aaron Williams, who's a top ten talent.

Unless you were looking at the wrong C.Brown, and meant Curtis Brown, who really is a good player, and is lightyears better than Chykie.

Moore hasn't shown to be nearly the ball hawk he was last year. Why him over the other top rated safety prospects this year...and don't say because he's from the Pac-10 you homer ;-)

Well he had an interception last Saturday, but you sound like you've been watching him a lot. I can't say that I have seen much other than that Houston game. It's 2 games into the season and you already think he's different from last year? I'm calling you out. You're just spitting out words outta your mouth with that statement.

I haven't seen McDaniels yet this year. But I know he's universally listed as the top S this year, so I'm interested to follow him.

If Moore doesn't show the same ball skills as last year, then I'll adjust my opinion accordingly.

As I posted on the other thread, Brian Broadus gave his analysis of the game film yesterday, and again, we had poor safety play. Our defense will never 'take the next step' with the type of safety play we've been getting the last several years.

__________________
In war, you win or lose, live or die - and the difference is just an eyelash.

Holy **** LL you couldn't be any more wrong here. Chykie Brown is absolute trash, he was average last season and this year he's getting beat like a dirty rug game in and game out. He has terrible man to man coverage skills, and can't play a ball in the air if his life depended on it. He's physically talented, but he is not skilled at all. There is absolutely no way he will be better than Aaron Williams, who's a top ten talent.

Unless you were looking at the wrong C.Brown, and meant Curtis Brown, who really is a good player, and is lightyears better than Chykie.

Lol I know the difference between Curtis and Chykie Brown it's not a new team to me or anything. And I stand by my comments while disagreeing completely with yours.

He's not anywhere near as bad as you make it seem because I've read numerous scouting reports from the end of last year, up to this month that have all three guys with a very solid chance to go in the 1st round. Chykie has been the most impressive corner to be personally, and I'll stand by those comments until I see something that shows me otherwise.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Wright

I guarantee that if someone picks Cam Newton in the Top 5 they will regret it.

As I posted on the other thread, Brian Broadus gave his analysis of the game film yesterday, and again, we had poor safety play. Our defense will never 'take the next step' with the type of safety play we've been getting the last several years.

Don't need someone to post it on a blog to know that our Safeties suck and that we won't take the next step until we fix that... but maybe Jerry will read it and that will open up his eyes. I can only hope.

You all know I've not been a fan of Sensabaugh. I am very hopeful of AOA, but realistically we're 2-3 years away from knowing. Michael Hamlin is a disappointment and I don't have much faith that he'll ever be more than a backup... if he can even stick as a backup. I see him following the Pat Watkins path. I agree that Jerry missed the ball when he failed to bring in Atogwe.

I'm just sick of having to talk about Safeties year after year, only to see us pass up on the elite talent and hoping to find a diamond out of a lump of coal. I'm tired of having a secondary that doesn't create turnovers. Jenkins is our only playmaker.